For Cubs, it's 'Wait 'Til Next Year: 101st edition'

Futility streak enters second century

The Cubs' championship drought reached 101 years Tuesday night when the Rockies' victory over the Brewers eliminated them from the National League wild card chase.

But the end came with far less fanfare than that which greeted the 100-year mark last October at Dodger Stadium, when the Dodgers swept the Cubs in the National League Division Series.

Conventional wisdom said the pressure was off the Cubs in 2009 because mentions of the streak would not be as prevalent as 2008.

"Last year, from Day One, that was the question," first baseman Derrek Lee said when camp opened in February. "There are definitely fewer questions so far. That 100-year thing made for a good story, so maybe it will be a little quieter year. I hope it helps. Last year we had a great regular season. We just flopped at the wrong time. But maybe it will take a little pressure off, not having to answer the 100-year question. Who knows?"

While the question went away, the drought continued, not that any of the players paid the least bit of attention.

"It never really came up this year," pitcher Ryan Dempster said. "I don't think about it. I kind of look at it like an odometer. It just kind of rolls over. So now it's at one year, instead of 101."

No matter the odometer reading, the Cubs' clunkers weren't worth the cash in '09, turning it into a long and miserable summer.

Veteran Cubs fans seemingly are inured to pain, having watched year after year of World Series-free baseball. But this year was harder to swallow than most, with great expectations and the third-highest payroll in baseball. Now another layer has been added to the losing streak, which moves into its second century.

"I think it would be kind of silly to take that perspective," pitcher Ted Lilly said. "The only thing that matters is today's game, when you get down to it: What happened -- what the clubs did before us and what has gone on -- that's really out of our control. Nothing we can do about it at this point."

The Cubs have gone to great lengths to try to end the drought, though nothing has worked.

Bill Veeck wrote in his autobiography that former Cubs owner Philip Wrigley hired an "Evil Eye" during the 1930s to put a curse on opposing pitchers, giving him a $5,000 salary and a $25,000 bonus if they won the pennant. But the karma was unaltered.

During the early 1960s, Wrigley decided to institute a college of coaches, believing the Cubs would have more success with a revolving door of managers. But the circle was unbroken.

In the 1990s, Tribune Co. invited Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis to parade a goat around the field, hoping to remove the infamous Billy Goat curse his uncle placed on the Cubs in 1945. Last October, Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney invited a Greek orthodox priest to sprinkle holy water in the dugout before the playoff opener against the Dodgers. But the Cubs were swept, and the curse lives on.

Last winter, the Cubs put their faith in free agent Milton Bradley, a talented outfielder with a checkered past, handing him a three-year, $30 million deal.

"He was negotiating with us and really didn't have a safety net," Kenny said at the Cubs Convention in January. "This is a guy who chose Chicago, and the pressure, and the limelight. I don't think he expects to fail. He wants to be a Cub."

But Bradley struggled at the plate, isolated himself from his teammates, provoked umpires and reporters, sparred with his hitting coach and manager, ignored his general manager and imploded in spectacular fashion Sept. 19 in St. Louis, leading to a 15-game end-of-the-season suspension.

Bradley's failure epitomized the Cubs' downfall, though he was not the sole reason for it. They were neck-and-neck with the Cardinals before collapsing in August, having made only a cameo appearance in first place.

"We really didn't have the lead in the division all this year," outfielder Reed Johnson said. "I think once you have the lead in the division, or at least you have a wild-card berth there and you're talking about the playoffs, that's when the 100-year thing starts to come up. But here, we're in a situation where for a month now it was going to take a miracle for us to be in playoff contention."

Now comes the pressure of trying to end the drought before it reaches 102 years, beginning next spring. Players insist it's no different than any other season.

"I think in general there's pressure on us to try to win," Dempster said. "Pressure, to me, is just not being prepared. We just try to win ballgames. Unfortunately this year hasn't gone like we expected, and I think that's probably why not much has been made of it. I'm sure if we made the playoffs, it would be brought up again."